Report: Raiders wise up, sign a legit slot WR in Griff Whalen

It appears the Raiders have finally begun to wise up at the slot receiver and kick returner positions, as they have signed former Colts, Chargers and Ravens WR/KR Griff Whalen on the first day of the free agent legal tampering period, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.

Over the past two seasons, Oakland has inexplicably relied upon the slot-receiving duties of the gangly and non-sudden Seth Roberts, who was always ill-built for the position.

In 2017, the Raiders thought that placing running back Jalen Richard back into kick and punt return duties was a smart choice as well. Eight fumbles and one season later, that decision definitively backfired, but the 5-foot-11 Whalen would assuage said concerns while also offering a legit weapon at slot receiver in spurts.

That said, the 28-year-old Whalen has proven to be injury prone over the course of his six NFL seasons as he has never been available for all 16 games. That means that the Raiders are likely nowhere near done at fleshing out a wide receiving corps that was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL just one season ago.